Emmerdale
For Emmerdale, the 1994 debut album by The Cardigans, see Emmerdale (album).Emmerdale (known as
Emmerdale Farm until
1989) is a
British television soap opera set in the fictional
Yorkshire village of the same name (known as Beckindale until 1994). Much of the action takes place within the fictional village
pub, The Woolpack. The show was created by Kevin Laffan. It is the third-highest ranking soap opera on British television, behind
Coronation Street and
EastEnders.
The series is produced by
Yorkshire Television (YTV) and broadcast on the
ITV network, and was first aired on
October 16,
1972. It was originally conceived and broadcast as a daytime programme in an afternoon slot, moving to its current position as an early evening programme in the
1980s.
Location shooting originally occurred in the village of
Arncliffe in Littondale, one of the less frequented valleys of the
Yorkshire Dales. In exterior shots, the town's hotel, The Falcon, was used to represent the fictional Woolpack Hotel. Eventually the location of the shooting location became publicly known, which is perhaps what prompted the move to the village of
Esholt. This location also became a tourist attaction. Now a purpose built set in
Harewood is used. Location footage of the fictional market town of Hotten is shot in
Otley. The Benton Park School in
Rawdon and the primary school in
Farnley are also used as shooting locations. Indoor scenes are mostly filmed in the
Emmerdale production centre in Leeds (located next to the main YTV building).Follow this link [
1] and if you have
Google Earth, click on 'Open This Placemark' to go to a high-resolution satellite image of the YTV set on the Harewood estate.
Emmerdale is shown from Sunday to Friday at 7pm on
ITV1. Repeat episodes and omnibuses of the show can be seen on
ITV2.
Emmerdale Farm was originally modelled on the revolutionary soap-opera
The Riordans, made by
RTÉ,
Ireland's broadcaster, from the 1960s to the mid 1970s.
The Riordans broke the mould for soap operas by being filmed largely out of doors on a farm owned in the storyline by Tom and Mary Riordan, rather than, as was the norm in British and American soap operas, being almost totally filmed in studios. (Even 'outdoor' scenes were traditionally filmed indoors.)
The Riordans pioneered location shooting, with real farm animals, actors driving
tractors. In the 1960s and 1970s, outdoor filming of television programmes using OBUs (Outdoor Broadcast Units) was in its infancy, due to the far higher costs involved, and the reliance on things like the weather that were out of the control of the programme makers.
The success of
The Riordans showed that a soap opera
could be filmed out of doors. Yorkshire Television sent people to
The Riordans set in
County Meath in
Ireland to see the making of the programme at first hand.
On the basis of what they saw, the station began preparations for its own rural-based, outdoor-filmed, soap opera, called
Emmerdale Farm. As with
The Riordans, it was to be focused on one family, the Sugdens, and the name of the farm was also the name of the show. As time went on, the show's focus moved to the nearby village of Beckindale. To reflect this change, the show's name was changed in 1989. Coinciding with the name change was the introduction of the Tates, who would emerge as the soap's leading family in the 1990s, overshadowing the Sugdens. In turn, the Tate family has been supplanted, with the
Dingle and
King families now taking centre stage.
Until
1993, the show was largely ignored by press and viewers alike in the face of much more well known soaps such as
Coronation Street,
EastEnders and
Brookside. However, a sensational plotline involving a plane crashing on to the village of Beckindale (which killed many long standing characters and led to the onscreen renaming of Beckindale to Emmerdale), gained a lot of press and audience attention and cemented the show's place among the top UK soaps. This plot line attracted controversy due to the similarity to the
Lockerbie disaster: it was aired near to the time of the fifth anniversary of that disaster.
On Thursday 13th July 2006, The Kings unveiled their brand new showhome which was to house married couple,
Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and
Donna Windsor-Dingle (
Verity Rushworth). But when local resident,
Noreen Bell (
Jenny Tomasin) opened a cupboard door inside the house it triggered a spark that let rip a huge gas explosion which catapulted her down the stairs. The explosion ripped through the bathroom floor tossing
Jimmy King (Nick Miles) and
Sadie King (
Patsy Kensit) to opposite sides of the bathroom. The estate agent David Brown, who was located near the cupboard, was set alight. While running towards the house
Marlon Dingle (Mark Charnock) and
Donna Windsor-Dingle (
Verity Rushworth) were also thrown back by another explosion. Debris started to fly towards the residents as the house started to explode in various places.
Diane Sugden (
Elizabeth Estensen) was knocked out by a collapsing ceiling while
Danny Daggert (Cleveland Campbell) and
Dawn Woods (
Julia Mallam), who were running behind her got caught in another explosion. The bathroom floor gave way and
Jimmy King (Nick Miles) fell through, shortly followed by
Sadie King (
Patsy Kensit). The house then fully collapsed as the residents of Emmerdale stood in shock. Three have been confirmed dead:
Noreen Bell (
Jenny Tomasin), who was hit by the full force of the initial explosion and died instantly,
Dawn Woods (
Julia Mallam), who was rescued from the rubble but shortly later died in hospital as a result of internal injuries, and the estate agent David Brown.
Emmerdale Farm started as an afternoon soap opera on the ITV Network in 1972. Soon after the start the majority of ITV regions chose to accommodate the programme in the 7pm Tuesday and Thursday slot.
Anglia Television and
Thames Television preferred a Monday and Tuesday 5:15pm slot and saw the week's episodes before the rest of the network. In January 1988, all ITV regions networked the show in the Wednesday and Thursday 6.30pm slot.
Anglia Television and
Central Television chose to move the programme to 7pm on Tuesdays and Thursdays in
February 1989 as they were screening the new daily Australian drama
Home and Away in the Emmerdale slot. This was the first time Anglia had screened
Emmerdale in the 7pm slot. Central were simply returning to the slots they used until
December 1987. For a period Anglia and Central saw episodes one week later than other regions. From
January 1990 all other regions followed the Central and Anglia schedule in the familiar Tuesday and Thursday 7pm slot. During the mid 1990s
Scottish Television used the 7pm slot to show daily regional programmes resulting in
Emmerdale moving to 5:10pm. Scottish Television had always given preference to their own countryside soap opera
Take The High Road which accommodated a 7pm slot. After only several months in the earlier slot Scottish returned
Emmerdale to the 7pm slot. By this time ITV had opted to increas their output to three episodes a week with the additional episode being screened on Wednesdays. In
2000 a further two episodes were added on a Monday and Friday evening. A sixth one to air on Sundays began in
2004.
The show is now ranked high in the British popularity stakes, being outdone regularly only by the two major mainstream British soaps,
EastEnders and
Coronation Street. However, recent hour-long episodes which have competed with
EastEnders have won the battle for viewing figures.
On Christmas Day 2005 Emmerdale attracted 6.2 million viewers where the villagers searched for Daz and Belle who fell down a mine shaft.
On Monday 24th April 2006 8.5 million viewers watched as Sam and Alice get married.
Emmerdale is notable for being the first television soap opera in the UK (and possibly the world) to regularly produce six episodes a week, shown every night except Saturday at 7 p.m.
Outside the UK,
Emmerdale reaches viewers in the
Republic of Ireland, where
UTV from
Northern Ireland is widely available, although
TV3 also show the programme.
Although four years behind today's episodes, the programme is also popular in
Canada on the
CBC, three days a week at 2:00 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time). The programme is also aired in
Sweden under the title
Hem till gården which translates to
Home to the Farm, In Sweden it has been shown since the
1970s (originally on
TV2, and then on commercial channel
TV4 since
1994). TV4 finished the programme for its regular summer break on
30 June 2006. Episodes are shown at 12.30pm with a repeat on their TV4+ channel in the evning around 5.15pm and a third opportunity to watch the following morning around 11am on TV4. Episodes most recently screened were from
2003. It also airs in
Finland, where it is currently aired five days a week by
MTV3. It has also been shown in
New Zealand on
TV One, and is currently shown on
Granada UKTV in the
Middle East.
Emmerdale was shown in Australia for the first time in July 2006 when
UK.TV on cable television provider
Foxtel began screening episodes from 2006.
Members of the
British Forces and their families can watch
Emmerdale on
BFBS TV1, which is also available free-to-air in the
Falkland Islands.
* All of the main characters in
Bottom were avid fans of
Emmerdale. When
Emmerdale Farm changed its name to
Emmerdale, the characters mused that this might be because it shortened the time needed for the audience to read its name, providing the writers with more screen time to fill with story arcs.
* The programme's title was changed from
Emmerdale Farm to
Emmerdale in 1989; in the storyline the village name was changed from Beckindale to Emmerdale in 1994.
* In the episode broadcast on 24 July 2006, Val Lambert visits Noreen Bell's house for the first time since Noreen was killed in the blast. She picks up a television magazine turned to the day of the disaster. While most of the schedule is as would normally be expected on a Thursday night, the 7pm slot on ITV1 shows a programme called "Castle Bridge" rather than Emmerdale. The magazine also schedules "
The Bill" at 8pm, where it would normally be broadcast; however, for this week only, it was actually replaced with
PokerFace.
January
19:
Kim Tate19:
Zak Dingle22:
Betty Eagleton28:
Andy SugdenFebruary
13: Dave Glover14: Alice Bates29: Laura Johnstone
March
01:
Mandy Dingle01:
Jimmy King05: Linda Glover07:
Daz Hopewood16: Bill Middleton23:
Marlon Dingle25:
Sarah Sugden31:
Victoria Sugden31: Geri Cairns31:
Charity TateApril
10: Sam and Sally Skilbeck21:
Amos Brearly22:
Robert Sugden27:
Zoe Tate30:
Emily KirkMay
03:
Vic Windsor03: Elizabeth Pollard10:
Tom King10:
Alice Dingle19:
Viv Hope25:
Chloe Atkinson31:
Joe SugdenJune
06:
Tricia Dingle08: Joseph Tate11:
Eric Pollard20:
Roy Glover21:
Diane Sugden6:
Sarah DingleJuly
01:
Paddy Kirk05:
Annie Brearly09: Kirk Daggert11: Graham Clark16: Charlie Cairns20:
Scott Windsor30: Michael Feldmann
August
5:
Alan Turner11: Ollie Reynolds16:
Sam Dingle23:
Butch Dingle28:
Peggy Skilbeck28: Peter Whiteley
September
03: Nick Bates04: Ned Glover15: Will Cairns16: Rachel Hughes24: James Tate29:
Kathy BrookmanOctober
01:
Frank Tate04: Richie Carter09: Dee Pollard13:
Katie Sugden26:
Debbie Dingle29: William Bates31: Bill Whiteley
November
12:
Seth Armstrong12: Archie Brooks14:
Ashley Thomas19:
Mark Hughes28:
Jack Sugden30:
Cain DingleDecember
02: Henry Wilks05:
Pete Collins05:
Kelly Windsor11:
Chris Tate12:
Rodney Blackstock12: Marc Reynolds20:
Chastity Dingle23: David Skilbeck25:
Belle Dingle25:
Gabby Thomas29:
Bernice Thomas31:
Donna Windsor-Dingle*
1972 - Jacob Sugden
*
1973 - Sharon Crossthwaite
*
1973 - Ian McIntyre
*
1973 - Peggy Skilbeck
*
1976 - Sam & Sally Skilbeck
*
1976 - Beattie Dowton
*
1977 - Jim Gimbel
*
1981 - Enoch Tully
*
1984 - Sam Pearson
*
1986 - Harry Mowlem
*
1986 - Pat Sugden
*
1988 - Steven Fuller
*
1989 - Dennis Rigg
*
1989 - Jackie Merrick
*
1990 - Pete Whiteley
*
1991 - Paolo Rossetti
*
1991 - Bill Whiteley
*
1991 - Henry Wilks
*
1993 - Meg Armstrong
*
1993 - Leonard Kempinski
*
1993 - Mark Hughes
*
1993 - Elizabeth Pollard
*
1993 - Archie Brooks (not confirmed)
*
1994 - Shirley Turner
*
1994 - Reg Dawson
*
1994 - Ben Dingle
*
1994 - Alice Bates Snr.
*
1995 - Joe Sugden (off-screen)
*
1995 - Luke McAllister
*
1996 - Jed Connell
*
1996 - Granny Hopwood
*
1996 - Dave Glover
*
1997 - Ron Hudson
*
1997 - Frank Tate
*
1997 - Kate Sugden
*
1997 - Linda Glover
*
1998 - Lord Alex Oakwell
*
1998 - Vic Windsor
*
1999 - Rachel Hughes
*
1999 - Liam Hammond
*
2000 - Graham Clark
*
2000 - Pete Collins
*
2000 - Butch Dingle
*
2000 - Sarah Sugden
*
2001 - Miss Strickland
*
2002 - Angie Reynolds
*
2002 - Ray Mullan
*
2003 - Chris Tate
*
2004 - Tricia Dingle
*
2004 - Paul Marsden
*
2005 - Shelley Williams (not confirmed)
*
2005 - Max King
*
2005 - Seth Armstrong (off-screen)
*
2006 - Brian Addyman (off-screen)
*
2006 - Terrence Turner
*
2006 - Noreen Bell
*
2006 - David Brown
*
2006 - Dawn Woods
*
2006 - Alice Dingle
*
1973 - Frank Blakey and Janie Harker
*
1974 - Joe Sugden and Christine Sharp
*
1978 - Matt Skilbeck and Dolly Acaster
*
1982 -
Jack Sugden and
Pat Merrick*
1988 -
Jackie Merrick and Kathy Bates
*
1989 - Joe Sugden and Kate Hughes
*
1991 -
Chris Tate and
Kathy Merrick*
1992 -
Eric Pollard and Elizabeth Feldman
*
1993 - Leonard Kempski and
Annie Sugden*
1994 -
Alan Turner and Shirley Foster
*
1994 -
Jack Sugden and
Sarah Connolly*
1994 -
Frank Tate and
Kim Tate (Remarriage)
*
1995 -
Amos Brearly and
Annie Kempinski*
1995 -
Chris Tate and Rachel Hughes
*
1996 -
Zoe Tate and Emma Nightingale (Blessing)
*
1996 - Dave Glover and
Kathy Tate*
1996 -
Biff Fowler and Linda Glover
*
1997 -
Eric Pollard and Dee De La Cruz
*
1998 -
Zak Dingle and
Lisa Clegg*
1998 -
Steve Marchant and
Kim Tate*
1998 -
Butch Dingle and
Mandy Dingle*
1999 -
Roy Glover and
Kelly Windsor*
1999 -
Paddy Kirk and
Mandy Dingle*
2000 -
Butch Dingle and
Emily Wylie*
2000 -
Joe Fisher and
Tricia Stokes*
2000 -
Ashley Thomas and
Bernice Blackstock*
2001 -
Bob Hope and
Viv Windsor*
2001 - Carlos Diaz and
Nicola Blackstock*
2001 -
Chris Tate and
Charity Dingle*
2002 -
Eric Pollard and Gloria Weaver
*
2002 -
Paddy Kirk and
Emily Wylie*
2003 -
Marlon Dingle and
Tricia Stokes*
2003 -
Terry Woods and
Dawn Hope*
2004 -
Andy Sugden and
Katie Addyman*
2004 -
Jack Sugden and
Diane Blackstock*
2005 -
Ashley Thomas and
Laurel Potts*
2006 -
Marlon Dingle and
Donna Windsor*
2006 -
Bob Hope and
Viv Windsor*
2006 -
Alasdair Sinclair and
Sadie King*
2006 -
Sam Dingle and
Alice Wilson*
2006 -
Adam Forsythe and
Steph StokesIn addition to the sensational Plane Crash storyline, the Woolpack was blown up in the 1990s, and recently Kings River showhome collapsed after several explosions caused by a gas leak. The collapse claimed threes, lives
Noreen Bell and estate agent David Brown were killed in the explosion and
Dawn Woods later died in hospital from internal injuries.
Other disasters include:
* 1996 - Dave Glover dies in a fire after attending Biff and Linda's wedding.
* 2000 -
Pete and Butch are killed in a bus crash.
* 2000 - Long-running character Sarah Sugden dies in a barn fire.
* 2001 - Mrs Strickland, the headmistress, is struck and killed by a car driven by some of her students.
* 2002 - The church is burnt down by schitzophrenic
Zoe Tate.
* 2004 - The village is hit by a storm,
Tricia Dingle is crushed beneath a falling chimney when the Woolpack is struck by lightning, and later dies in hospital.
* 2005 -
Zoe Tate and Callum Rennie destroy Home Farm in a gas explosion for revenge on the Kings before leaving Emmerdale.
* 2005 -
Max King dies instantly when the Land Rover he's in goes off the road and through a brick wall and explodes.
* 2006 - The vicarage burnt down after a stray spark ignited spilt vodka, with
Debbie Dingle trapped inside.
* 2006 - The Kings' show home explodes and collapses, leaving several trapped in the rubble,
Noreen Bell and estate agent David Brown are killed in the explosion, whilst
Dawn Woods later dies of internal injuries in hospital.
Several
Emmerdale books, fiction and non-fiction, have been produced, a number written by
Lance Parkin (who had been a storyliner on the TV show). At least one of these was also translated into Finnish.There are also several videos including The Dingles down under, The Woolpackers and Don't Look Now!- The Dingles in Venice.
*
List of Emmerdale characters*
itv.com - Emmerdale*
Emmerdale Message Board inc: Spoilers, Wallpapers, Screensavers.*
Soap spoilers and discussion*
Classic telly*
Emmerdale behind the scenes - filming locations revealed*
Claire King on The Soap Show— Claire King (Kim Tate) and her autobiography profiled on The Soap Show.
*
The House Explosion 13/07/06— at
You Tube
